A Warrior's Path
by KatAang32
Summary: Suki wants to be the best Warrior she can be and follow in her mother's footsteps. Life comes with so many choices to make, will she always make the right choice? Will life teach her to be the best leader she can be or is there something else in store for her?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not have anything to do with AtLA or Nickelodeon nor have I ever.

A Warrior's Path

Chapter 1

Everyday for as long as she could remember, Suki watched the Kyoshi Warriors practice, it was like an amazing dance. Suki's mother was the current leader, before was her grandmother, and before that her great grandmother. It was a tradition, through their blood-line, all the way back to Avatar Kyoshi. Today was a special day for Suki. Today was her tenth birthday and she was finally old enough to start her training to become a great Kyoshi Warrior herself, and one day follow with tradition and become the next leader. Today was Suki's Initiation Ceremony; this was where she was officially made a warrior, where she got her very own uniform and all. Her mother turned to face her, she wore a proud smile. "Today, we welcome a new member into our ranks! This is your warrior's uniform, wear it proudly! The silk threads symbolizes the brave blood that flow through our veins. The gold insignia represents the honor of the warrior's heart."

"Bravery and Honor." Suki repeated bowing to her mother.

"Bravery and Honor!" All the warriors yelled.

"Welcome, my daughter!" Her mother said as she hugged her daughter. "It almost felt like this day would never arrive."

Suki went into the changing room and put her first uniform on. First she put on her green armored kimono, then her metal head dress and completed the uniform by carefully painting her face. She felt so proud as she looked in the mirror on the table in front of her, the blue-eyed girl that had looked back at her was now a Warrior of Kyoshi. She quickly dabbed away a few tears before they streaked her make-up, she was proud to finally be a warrior, like all the women of her blood line before her. Suki examined her new weapons: the Katana, the golden fans, and the retractable shield.

When Suki came out of the dressing room she was grinning from ear to ear. She lined up with the rest of the Warriors as they started their sets, every movement beautiful but deadly. Suki had no problem staying with them, she had done the sets on the side-line for as long as she could remember, she was born to be a warrior.

"Okay, Warriors, that was great practice, now we will continue our celebration of Suki's induction and tenth birthday!" Suki's mother said as another warrior brought a birthday cake out of a cupboard.

"Happy Birthday Suki!" They all said, then began passing out birthday cake to everyone.

* * *

"Daddy! Daddy! I'm officially a Kyoshi Warrior now!" Suki said as she ran, in full uniform, into their house. Her father had been out fishing, so he was unable to attend Suki's ceramony.

"I'm so proud of you Suki!" He said as he scooped her up in his arms and spun her around.

"She did so well today!" Suki's mother said as she, also in full uniform, walked into their home. "She had no problem keeping up with us."

"I told you she wouldn't, Avalon, she spent every minute she could watching you. Then she would come home and practice in her room for hours. She was born a Warrior!"

Suki had her fans out, she was carefully practicing her fan sets. This is the very first time she would practice with real fans, all she had before were some make-shift fans made from folded parchment.

"Mama, may I go show my friends my uniform?" Suki asked.

"Yes, but not the fans, they are weapons not toys." Her mother told her.

"Aaaawwwwww... Okay Mama." Suki said as she closed her golden fans and set them on the table.

* * *

Suki's friends were all waiting for her at the bridge; they too awaited the day that they become Kyoshi Warriors. "Look at you! All suited up. Can we see your fans?" Her friends called out as she approached the bridge. Most of them would be turning ten in a couple months.

Suki's smile faded, "Mama said I couldn't bring the fans with me."

"Aaaawwweeee, we wanted to see them." Pika said.

"Well there goes that idea." Suryani pouted.

"Hey lets go swimming!" Rayn suggested to the other six girls. Growing up on Kyoshi Island EVERYONE knew you never swam at the beach, the Unagi lurks in those waters, you swam in the pond at the bottom of the waterfall.

"Oh that's a great idea!" Suki said excitedly."Let me go home and hang up my warrior uniform so it doesn't get dirty or messed up."

"Okay but hurry up!" Meena said to Suki.

Suki ran home as quickly as she could, she couldn't wait to swimin the cold water. Today was the first hot day of spring, and after spending all day in the dojo, the idea of going swimming was magical. Suki burst through the door at full speed, "I'm going swimming with my friends Mama, and Daddy!" She hollered to her parents as she headed straight to her room to change her clothes.

"Be back by dark!" Suki's mother called into Suki's bedroom. "Remember to be a good girl you are a Warrior of Kyoshi now, not just simple Suki anymore. Whether in uniform or not you always act with bravery and honor."

"I will Mama!" Suki called as she finished dressing in her regular clothes and ran back to the bridge where her friends were still waiting for her.

The seven girls had fun playing and splashing each other, they played a little game to see who could stand under the waterfall the longest, of course Suki, won. She always won. Then their fun was disrupted by a bunch of the village boys that came over and started messing with them.

"Come on girls, let's go for a walk." Kerian said as the boys jumped into the pond sending water splashing all over them.

"Yeah, lets go for a walk." Suki agreed, giving all the boys dirty looks as the girls picked up their clothes and walked back over the bridge. They walked along the little river that ran around the island and through a beautiful peach orchard.

Once the girl's underclothes were dry they stopped to put their clothes back on. "I hate boys! They are such jerks. I'm going to concentrate on becoming the best Warrior I can be." Suki said as she pulled her dress over her head.

"But some of them are so cute." Rayn said.

"All boys are stupid jerks... they act like they are better than us. I will never get married." Suki told them.

The group of girls continued walking along the small river and into the peach orchard. They could tell when they got close, the scent of ripe juicy peaches was heavy in the air. This was one of Suki's favorite things about her home on the island.

Suki felt her stomach growl and knew that Mama would be cooking dinner right about now. "Hey guys, we should go back home, I'm getting hungry."

"Suki, we are in a huge orchard with thousands upon thousands of peaches. Just take a few, nobody is going to get hurt... nobody is going to even notice a few peaches gone, the birds eat more then we could anyways." Pika told Suki.

"I know... but I will know... I'm a Kyoshi Warrior now and Mama said I need to act like one." Suki told the.

"Oh, come on Suki... You aren't even in uniform right now." Meena told her.

"Mama said whether in uniform or not you always act with bravery and honor. Taking peaches isn't very honorable."

"Oh, so Miss Suki is better than us because she's a 'Warrior' now." Pika said to the other girls. "Yeeeaaahhh." the five other girls said at the same time.

Suki's heart hurt. She didn't think she was any better, and she wanted her friends to like her. "Okay, I'll take one." Suki told them. She spotted a huge yellow and pink peach, she reached up and plucked it from the tree. Inside she knew that this was very wrong but she worried too much about what her friends thought. She held the peach up to her nose, it smelled wonderfully juicy, she put it to her mouth and took a great big bite.

"Peach thieves!" Mr. Ler, the orchard ownet's voice rang all around them, startling them all "PEACH THEIVES!" he yelled again. Suki was getting ready to bolt when a hand came down on her shoulder causing her to scream. All her friends had gotten away but he had her so she couldn't go anywhere.

"I'm taking you to your mother Suki, I don't take kindly to peach theives." The old man said as he took hold of her wrist and began walking her to her house.

The entire time it took to get to her house her mother's voice kept ringing in her head "A Kyoshi Warrior always acts with bravery and honor." Suki felt so bad, not for stealing... for letting Mama down. She knew she shouldn't have touched that peach, moreover she knew she shouldn't have let her friends talk her into doing something she knew was very wrong. Stealing was neither brave nor honorable, she felt sick to her stomach from the guilt, she was crying when the old man knocked on the front door. His other hand tightened around her wrist.

Suki began to cry harder when she saw it was her mother who had answered the door. "Good evening Mr. Lee. What can I do for you today?" Mama's smile faded when she saw Mr. Lee's hand around her daughter's wrist.

"I caught a Peach Thief!" The old man said.

Mama's eyes looked sadly at her daughter. "How much will you sell the peach to me for?"

"I don't want money... I want her to come to my Orchard and help me every day for the next month. She needs to see what goes into growing the fruit. She will never learn to not steal them if you just buy them from me." He told Avalon.

"Okay we can work that out. When would you like her to be there tomorrow? She has Warrior training everyday but she can work for you after." Suki's mother told him.

"Warrior training... Ok well I want her in the grove by the time the sun comes up, I will dismiss her for training, but right after training is over she will return and work until sunset." The old man said as he released Suki's wrist.

"Okay, I will make sure she is there on time every day." Mama said to him. "Come on Suki, We need to talk."

Suki and her mother went into the kitchen, Mama looked so sad and disappointed. "I'm sorry Mama. I didn't want to... The girls talked me into it... they acted like they aren't going to be my friend if I didn't." Tears poured from her eyes. "Stealing is neither brave nor honorable. I made a bad choice... and now have to accept the consequences of my actions... but most of all, Mama, I let you down... I'm so sorry Mama. I'm so so sorry, I will never steal again. I'll go to my room until you call me for dinner." Suki said then went to her room.

Suki's Mother knew Suki was racked with guilt, and that Suki knew what she did was wrong and accepted the consequences. A small smile came to her lips, one day Suki would be a great leader for the Kyoshi Warriors.

* * *

**Now that you are at the bottom of the page, please take a moment to leave me a review! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not have anything to do with AtLA or Nickelodeon nor have I ever.

Chapter 2

Suki grumbled as the rooster-pig announced the day's beginning. She pulled herself out of bed and got herself ready for a long day full of hard work. After dressing, she pulled her short hair into a half ponytail. "Bye mom." She called to her mothet, who was in the kitchen making breakfast for the family. Suki hurried out the door as quickly as she could, she didn't want to be late, she made a bad choice and now she had to accept the consequences of her actions. She reached the orchard just before the sun came up. The eastern horizon began to glow, Suki watched in wonder; she had never seen the sunrise before.

"Beautiful aint it? Mr. Lee asked as he joined her in the orchard.

"Yes, it is quite beautiful." The ten year old girl said.

"Here." Mr. Lee said as he handed her a cup of tea and a peach sweet roll for breakfast.

Suki was surprised but accepted the food from him. "Th... Thank you."

"Don't thank me, yer gunna need it, we got lots'a work to do before you go train." He told her.

The orchard was huge and it had been here since before even Avatar Kyoshi herself was alive. It had always been owned and worked by the Lee family line. Suki had had peaches from other places before, but they were never as big, or juicy, or sweet, or as soft as the ones from this orchard. Mothers would mash them up to feed to their babies, bakers made some of the best peach pies, sweet rolls, custards, tarts, cookies and cakes on the island; Suki had actually overheard a few men on merchant ships say they are the best in the world.

"First, yer gunna pick up all the rotten fruit from underneath the trees. See this bucket? Yer gunna put them in there. Then rake all the leaves and such from under them, from there I'll move it to my compost heap."

"Mr. Lee... Why don't we just put the rotten peaches in there too?" Suki asked him.

"Because each rotten piece of fruit can grow inta it's very own tree." He told the ten year old girl. "Ok, girl start picking them up." He said as he folded his arms in front of his chest watching to make sure she does it correctly.

Suki squatted to pick up the first piece of rotten fruit, as soon as she touched it, goo gushed out that smelt like fermented peach juice; she had to cover her nose the smell was so awful. "Can I have gloves?" She asked him.

"I don't need gloves... you don't need gloves." He told her.

"But... but I'm going to get all dirty." She whined.

"If ya come out clean ya ain't doin' it right... Hard work gets ya dirty." He told her. Suki reached out and picked up the squishy, oozing black peach off the ground; she had to hold back a retch or two, it made a squishy thunk as it dropped into the bottom of the metal bucket he had provided for her. She picked up then next, again having to cover her nose and hold back another retch. She picked up squishy rotten blobs of foul-smelling goo for the next three hours. Her hands were smelly and sticky when she was done. Suki stood up to see how many trees she had picked up, she started to count each tree in the row, one, two, three... twelve... TWELVE trees. She had a feeling of pride, yeah it was gross, but she had accomplished more that she expected.

Mr. Lee came out of his house with a wet towel and a big glass of his wonderful peach lemonade. "Ok, clean yer'self up, Warrior training starts in half an hour. Remember to come back after it gets over."

"Thank you," she said as she wiped her hands with the towel then took the glass of juice and drank the whole thing at once. "I'll see you after training."

Suki ran home as quickly as she could to change into her uniform and paint her face. She slipped into the dojo, the Warriors' training had already began, sh went to her place in the front row. Her mother gave her a look of reprimand followed a small look of pride.

Suki pulled out her golden fans, and opened them. The routine was a dance that Suki had known and preformed hundreds of times; she could do it with her eyes closed.

When practice ended all the girls and women started to return home. "Suki," Her mother said "I need you to stay after, I need to talk to you... Leader to warrior."

"Ok, Mama." Suki knew that if you were asked to stay after you were in trouble.

After the dojo was empty Suki's mother walked over to Suki, who was standing at attention. "Suki... You can't arrive late to training, because I am the leader as well as your mother,you especially need to follow follow ALL the rules. How else are you going to become an example to your friends, and one day become a great leader?"

"I'm sorry Ma'am... Mr. Lee..." Suki's mother cut her off.

"Mr. Lee knows what time training starts, it is your responsibility to ready yourself and get here on time." Her mother told her.

"Okay," Suki hung her head. "I'll do my best to get here on time."

"Okay, now off with you, you are due back to Mr. Lee. Change, then get back to him."

"Yes ma'am." Suki ran home and changed into the clothes she was wearing earlier, then as fast as she could ran back to the peach orchard.

"I'm back!" She called as she entered the orchard.

Mr. Lee got a small smile, which surprised Suki, she had never seen the man do anything but scowl all the time, "Ya fergot ta wash yer face."

Suki's fingers touched the slightly sticky paint on her face, she looked at her fingers and gave a small laugh. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry." She said sheepishly.

"Okay, yer gunna continue picking up the rotten peaches from under the trees." He said as he held the newly emptied bucket out for her and pointed to the row she was working on before training.

She accepted the bucket and went right back to where she left off. Suki hadn't noticed until now that Mr. Lee was working a few rows over doing the exact same thing she was doing.

As the sun touched the ground in the distance Mr. Lee walked over to her. "Suki, ya did very well today, I'll see ya tomorrow morning."

Suki took her time walking back home, she had a small sense of self satisfaction, she worked hard today and her whole body ached but she felt good. As she entered the village her friends spotted her and all ran to her.

"Is he mean?" Rayn asked as she reached Suki.

"What did he make you do?" Meena asked.

"I can't believe that old man is making you work for a month just because of one peach." Suryani asked

"I think he's creepy." Kerina said as she shuddered at the meer thought of the old man.

"Yeah he's really creepy." They all said.

Suki stopped and looked at her friends. "No, he's not mean or creepy... It's not just one peach, you all took peaches too! You guys stole too!" Suki told them. "I need to go, it's almost dinner time and mama and daddy are waiting for me."

"Hey why don't you skip working tomorrow after your warrior training? We can go swimming!"

"It'll be lots of fun!" Kyra said as she bounced excitedly at the idea.

"Yeah, fun!" Suki said to them. "I really need to get back home now, it's almost dark."

"See you tomorrow, it's going to be so much fun!" Her friends called to her as she walked down the street to her house. Suki knew skipping out on her word wasn't honorable, her mother's words came to her as she walked 'Suki... you especially need to follow ALL the rules. How else are you going to become an example to your friends, and one day become a great leader?'

Suki knew that if it wasn't honorable she shouldn't do it. Maybe her friends weren't the type of people she should be hanging around with.

"Hi sweetie!" Her father said as she came walking in. "How was your first day?"

Suki sat on her daddy's lap and hugged him tightly. "It was okay..."

"What's wrong sweetie?" He asked her. "Did you have a bad day at the orchard?"

"No, I had a great day... Mr. Lee is really nice. I'm looking forward to tomorrow." She told him.

"Then what's got you down?" He asked.

"My friends..." She said then sighed.

"What about them?" He coaxed her.

"They... they are not very honorable people... they want me to skip working tomorrow afternoon and go swimming with them."

"And what are you going to do?" He calmly asked her.

"Skipping out on my responsibilities is NOT honorable, Mama told me I need to be an example to them... If I skip working then I'm not being a good example." Suki told her father.

"Are you going to go swimming tomorrow afternoon?" He asked her.

"No, I have to be honorable, I have duties and responsibilities I have to keep." Suki told her father.

"I am so proud of you Suki!" Her mother had come out of the kitchen and overheard the conversation Suki and her father were having.

"Mama, I promise to be the best example I can be! The best Kyoshi Warrior, and the best leader that I can be." Suki dreamed about being a Kyoshi Warrior all her life, and what kind of a warrior steals and skips out on work to have fun?

* * *

**Now that you are at the bottom of the page, please take a moment to leave me a review! Thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not have anything to do with AtLA or Nickelodeon nor have I ever.**

**Chapter 3**

Warrior Training was almost over and Suki could see her friends just outside the sliding doors to the dojo. Mama could see the nervous look on Suki's face, Mama knew exactly what was bothering Suki; she had made the right decision about not skipping out of her responsibilities and going swimming. "Okay everyone, training is over, those that are scheduled to take posts do so. Suki I need to talk to you... You go tell your friends you have to stay after."

Suki wasn't sure why Mama wanted to talk to her, but she did as she was told, going just outside the doors. "Hey guys... Mama wants me to stay after. I'll see you guys in a little while."

"Okay, we are going to go ahead and meet you at the waterfall." Kyra said as she and all the girls started walking to the waterfall.

When she came back inside Mama was waiting for her. "Suki, I want you to know that you have made me very proud. You have been honorable even when it's too easy not to be. You will become a great leader. I love you so much." She then hugged her daughter. "Okay now that they are gone, change quickly, Mr. Lee is waiting for you."

Suki was beaming, it felt good to be told that she was honorable, making the right choices. "I love you too, Mama!" She then hurried off to change and get back to the peach orchard.

* * *

Suki came running into the orchard calling to Mr. Lee, "I'm back! Do you want me to pick up more rotten peaches?'

The old man smiled for a moment then went back to his gruff and bitter attitude. "Yes, pick up the rotten ones from this row." He gestured to the forth row over, the one she had been working before she left for training. He was working on the sixth row over. He was twice as fast as her and he didn't have to stop for Warrior training.

"Okay!" Suki said as she got an empty bucket and started on the tenth tree, where she had left off. Suki found that the work went faster if she sang while she was picking up the rotten fruit. Before she knew it she was starting on the eleventh row, and by sunset she had reached the half way point in that very same row.

"Suki, you did very well today... not as good as me but you did well, I will see you at sunrise." He handed her a basket that was full of his wonderful peaches. They are not quite ripe yet but they would be perfect for peach cobbler."

Suki looked down at the basket. "But... But you said I had to work for a month to pay off my peach and the ones the other girls stole." He had seen all the girls but was only able to catch Suki.

"No, I want you to work for a month so that you can see what goes into taking care of this place. Working hard to grow such wonderful peaches... People take it for granted, buying the fruit without knowing what I put into it to grow them."

"Thank you so much Mr. Lee!" Suki hugged him then ran back home as quickly as she could. As she approached her home, her friends were waiting for her just a few houses from her own.

"Look, its goody goody Suki! You are such a liar, you said you were going to go swimming with us, but you never showed." Meena said, she grabbed the basket from Suki's hand. "What do you have here?" She said opening the basket and looking its contents. "Hey girls, look what Suki has!" Meena turned the basket over spilling all the peaches out onto the dirt road, they started tumbling down the slanted main road that went through town.

Suki grabbed the basket out of Meena's hands and ran to catch the rogue fruit that was bouncing its way through the village. The girls saw Suki's father and ran off. Suki's eyes filled with tears, they burned as they spilled over. Suki's father had just been returning from the market after a day of selling the fish he caught earlier this morning. He helped her catch all the fruit. "They are all bruised now!" Suki cried into his chest as he held his baby girl to him.

Suki was the oldest in the group of friends, but she was not the leader... More often than not she had been tricked or bullied into doing things she didn't want to do. She was the great-great-great-great-great-great-great granddaughter of Avatar Kyoshi, leadership was in her blood... Just not in her group of friends.

"Daddy," She said looking up at him, "Mama says I'm going tobecome a great leader... How can I lead them if they treat me like this now?"

"You will grow, you will become stronger, more confident." He let out a soft chuckle. "Your Mama had the same problem when she was your age... I had such a crush on her when we were younger."

"Eeeewwww Daddy, I don't want to know about yucky boy girl stuff!" Suki said as she scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out like she ate something bitter.

"You will in the future." He told her as he examined all the fruit in the basket. "These will be just fine... We just need to rinse them off, and if we use them for cooking we won't even notice the bruises."

Suki wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her dress then smiled up at her father. "I love you so much Daddy."

"I love you too baby girl. Now let's get these to your mother." He said as he held the basket in one hand and his daughter's hand in his other.

Once they were home Suki took the basket inside while her father took a large bucket to the water pump nearby. "Hi Mama!" Suki said as she entered their small kitchen, basket in hand.

"What do you have there, Suki?" Mama asked her.

"Mr. Lee gave me this basket of peaches..." She sighed, "My friends took it from me and dumped them out on the road. They are always picking on me."

Mama held Suki against her for a minute, "I had the same problem when I was younger. Let's check these out." Mama opened the basket and took one peach out at a time examining them. "They look good, they just need to get rinsed off."

Suki giggled, "That's what Daddy said."

"Well your father is a smart man." Mama said with a smile. "Where is he?"

"He went to get us some water from the pump." Suki told Mama.

"No, I'm not," He said walking in the door with the bucket of water. "I'm home now."

"Help me rinse these, then I'll teach you to make Peach Cobbler." Mama said as she dunked each peach in the bucket of water to rinse them off.

Mama took a short knife out, cutting around the pit, then she pulled the two halves apart. "I'll do this part, you cut them into wedges." Mama said handing Suki a cutting board, a large knife, and a bowl to put the peach wedges into. After all the peaches were cut up Mama showed her how much sugar and cinnamon to put on the wedges. Next Mama showed Suki how to mix the flour, oats, and sugar with butter, they sprinkled the crumbles over the top of the peaches in a baking pan. And finally Mama put it in the wood burning oven, "It will be done just after dinner. You did a wonderful job making it."

"But you, made it Mama." Suki said.

"No, I cut the pits out, you did everything else." Her mother told her with a smile.

Suki sat perplexed for a few moments as she replayed making the cobbler with her mother, she hadn't realized she did almost all of it with just a little bit of guidance from her mother. "I did! Oh thank you Mama, thank you for showing me." Making the cobbler helped brighten up Suki's mood as well as help her not think about what her friends said to her.

"That is what a mother is supposed to do." Mama said as she hugged her daughter.

The family sat around the dinner table, laughing and smiling. The scent of Peach Cobbler was heavy in the air. Mama had removed it from the oven and had it cooling by a window as they ate their dinner.

Suki helped her mother clear the table then retrieved the bottle of cream from the cold box while her mother put large servings of the cobbler into three bowls.

"Suki made desert!" Mama said as she set the bowls at the table, she poured a bit of cream over the cobbler then they all began to eat.

"Wonderful, wonderful desert Suki! Your future husband will love your cooking." Her father told her.

She got a sour look on her face again, "Eeeeewwwwwww Daddy, boys are weird and yucky." Suki said.

"Your father is right, you did wonderfully Suki, I am very proud of you... And I want you to always remember that no matter what I will always love you."

"I will always try to make the best choices... The most honorable!" Suki said sitting up taller, "Mama! Can I bring Mr. Lee some cobbler tomorrow morning?!"

"Yes, Suki, you may... Don't forget to tell him you made it!"

"Oh thank you Mama! I won't forget!" Suki said with a big yawn, it was getting late and she was more tired than she realized.

Mama saw the yawn "Okay, my Suki-pie, off to bed with you."

"G'night Mama, g'night Daddy, I love you." Suki said before going to her room, she changed quickly and fell asleep as soon as her head touched her pillow."

* * *

**Now that you are at the bottom of the page, please take just a few seconds to leave me a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever had anything to do with AtLA or Nickelodeon.

Chapter 4

Suki was up before the rooster-pig announced the coming day. Working for Mr. Lee had turned the lazy girl that usually had to be told a few times to get up into a hard working early riser. Suki washed her face, pulled her hair back into a half bun and called her goodbyes as she ran out the door. She ran all the way to Mr. Lee's peach orchard. When she first started working for him the walk up the hill had her out of breath half way up, but now she could run the entire way without breaking a sweat.

When she got there she walked over to the edge of the orchard where she could watch the sun rise over the morning horizon. It was always magnificent to watch. She watched it every morning; and it was magnificent every time.

"Good morning Suki." Mr. Lee said as he walked over to her, he handed her a cup of his special tea and a peach breakfast bun.

"Thank you Mr. Lee." She said as she accepted the wonderful breakfast that he shared with her every morning.

"Mr. Lee your special tea tastes just like your wonderful peaches." Suki told him as she sipped the hot, wonderfully sweet liquid.

"Well, maybe I can show you how to make it sometime." He said as he sipped his tea and watched the sunrise. "This is my favorite time of the day, the orchard smells so wonderful, you can hear all the birds singing good morning to each other, and watching the sun come up from what looks like underwater."

"It is beautiful Mr. Lee." Suki said just before taking a big bite of the peach bun he had given to her. "What are we going to do today?"

"Follow me." He told her with a smile, she trotted behind him doing her best to keep up with his long strides. He stopped in front of a very old looking peach tree next to his house. "This is the first. It was planted by my great great great great great grandfather, before even Avatar Kyoshi's time. When the peaches on it are ready to be picked the first harvest begins." He reached up and picked a huge peach that was weighing down a thick limb. He brought it to his nose and breathed in its wonderful scent. He handed it to Suki, "Smell it. You can smell the sweet juice of a ripe peach." after she smelled it he took it back and pulled out a small knife and cut it in half. The peach was so sweet and juicy.

"Oh, my! That is so good!" Suki said as she took a bite and wiped the juice from her face.

"That is how I know it's time for the first harvest."

"The first?" Suki asked. "I didn't know you had more than one harvest."

"If all the peaches are harvested at the same time then they wouldn't all last until the end of the season." He explained to her. "We are going to pick only the biggest on the trees first. That way we can go back in a week or so and repeat the process. This continues throughout the entire season until all the fruit if picked."

She followed him to his tool shed where he pulled out two aprons that looked like they had baskets attached to them and two long poles that had strange baskets on the end of them. The baskets had claw like fingers around the mouth of the basket. "The fruit we can reach we pick off and place in these special aprons, they have drawstrings at the bottom so that we can deposit the fruit into the crates without having to take the aprons off." He then picked up one of the strange poles, "These are what we use to reach the peaches we can't get to with our hands." They walked over to the first tree in the first row, he took a few steps back as he examined all the fruit, looking for the biggest. With a smile he captured a huge one in the basket, with one swift movement he hooked the stem of the fruit with the basket's claws and jerked downward plucking the fruit from the tree. The basket was large enough for him to repeat the process two more times before depositing the fruit into one of the wooden crates that he had set up down the row of trees.

Suki examined the peaches she could reach first, she found the biggest one that she could reach. She pulled it down and put it into her apron pocket. Mr. Lee took it from her and set it down on the ground next to a stack of empty crates waiting to be filled, then went back to work. Suki was a bit confused at why he had just taken the peach from her but decided he was a strange old man and left it at that.

Before Suki knew it, she had emptied her apron pocket several times, it was almost time to do her Kyoshi Warrior training for the day. "Suki," the old man told her as he came over to her, she noticed he had a peach in his hand. "This is the very first peach you picked, from the very first tree in the very first row. It was this very first tree that you worked at on your very first day working for me. On that day you picked up all the rotten fruit from underneath that tree, you cleared away all the weeds that take the nutrients from the ground, keeping the tree from producing the best it can." Suki stood quietly listening to the old man. "Take this peach, taste your work... Taste what the tree was able to produce because YOU cared for it."

The girl accepted the peach, she smelled it like he showed her, then she took a huge bite. To her, that piece of fruit was even sweeter than the one they had picked from the old tree. "Mmmmmm!" She mumbled as she chewed on the delicious fruit.

"Without YOU that tree wouldn't have produced THAT piece of fruit. If I had done it, it wouldn't taste the same." He told her. "Now, off with you, you mustn't be late for training. I will see you after training is over."

Suki took of her apron and ran down the hill to the dojo, she needed to rinse her face and hands before changing into her warrior garb and putting on her face make-up. She was just splashing the cook water onto her face when her mother slid the door open to the changing room. "Hi Mama!" Suki aid standing up and hugging her mother. "Taste!" Suki told her, handing her mother the peach Mr. Lee had given to her.

"Okay, sweetie!" He mother chuckled as she accepted the fruit and took a bite. "Mmmmmmm!" She said as she chewed the bite then swallowed it, then she took one more bite and handed it back to her daughter.

"Mr. Lee said that that peach wouldn't taste like that if he had cleared away the weeds and picked up the rotten fruit." Suki proudly told her mother.

"Mr. Lee is a wise man my daughter. The reward isn't as sweet if someone else does the work. Removing the things that would take away from it producing the best it can." Her mother then left the changing room. Suki had not realized that what her mother had just told her was exactly what Mr. Lee had told her.

"Hard work yields the greatest benefits." Suki sat taller, she felt proud. "If I work hard, I WILL be a great Leader... I WILL be the leader that Mama wants me to be." She said to the Kyoshi Warrior staring back at her through the mirror.

She was going to apply her realization to every aspect of her life, hard work produces the greatest rewards. In training every step would be precise, no noodle arms, no drooping elbows, using her opponent's strengths against them.

As she walked back up the hill, the group of girls were waiting for her. "Hey Suki, we are going to give you a chance to be our friend again. We want you to bring each of us a peach from the orchard tonight." Meena told her.

Suki stood in silence as she thought of being their friend again, she had been lonely and bored since they stopped being her friends. Then she remembered what Mr. Lee had said about growing the sweetest peaches, about what Mama had said about removing the bad to get the best possible. Suki straightened up, shoulders back, head held high. "I cannot allow you to hold me back from being the best I can be. I must remove the weeds and rotten fruit. You guys are weeds and rotten fruit! Now I need to get back to work, I am a responsible Kyoshi Warrior."

She trotted back up the hill to the orchard, she felt good inside. She wasn't going to let anyone keep her from working hard.

"Hello Mr. Lee!" She called to him as she put her apron back on and picked up her fruit picker. "Thank you for teaching me how to be the best person I can be." She then went back to working hard to help him finish the first row of trees by dark.

The old man smiled, he wasn't quite sure what she all meant by that but he could see her standing taller, more confident.

As the sun was setting Suki helped him move all the full crates into the cool barn for storage, and to keep the birds away. "We are taking the first harvest to the market at the end of the week, we need to get as much of the ripe fruit as we can by then." He told her.

"Mr. Lee... that's my last day working for you." Suki told him.

"I know Suki, You have been a great help. Now go home before your Mama thinks I'm a slave driver." He said with a chuckle.

"Okay, Mr. Lee." Suki laughed then walked back down the hill to her house. She kept thinking about her last day working with Mr. Lee, when she first started to work with him she thought a month would feel like a lifetime, working for grumpy old Me. Lee. But now she was sad that the month was almost over. She learned so much from the kind old teacher, and not just about growing fruit, but about life too.

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	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not have anything to do with AtLA or Nickelodeon nor have I ever.

Chapter 5

Suki panicked as she ran up the hill, the sun had already risen. She had never been late before, but today as she started her morning trek up the hill to the orchard she was intercepted by the girls she had once considered her friends.

"Look who it is girls!" Rayn said as they blocked Suki's path. "Suki is on her way to see her boyfriend Mr. Lee!"

"Aaawww! Have you kissed him yet?" Meena asked her as all the girls broke out in laughter.

"Are his lips as wrinkled as his hands?" Suryani teased Suki causing the other girls to laugh even harder.

"You girls are big bullies, I'm tired of you harassing me! You need to grow up! We always used to talk about being Kyoshi warriors together, that one day it would be our turn to protect the island. You are worse than some of those men we see come off the boats. With the way you girls act you will never make good Kyoshi Warriors! Now, leave me alone!" Suki scolded them, then pushed through the group of girls and started running up the hill.

As Suki entered the orchard's double gate she was wiping away the tears that stung just as much as the words that brought them on, she rested her hands on the large gate as she steadied her breathing. She put on a smile and walked to the large house where she always met Mr. Lee; he was not watching the sunrise like he always did, he was coming out of the large barn where he kept his ostrich-horses, he was leading a pair out. "You're late Suki." The old man said told her.

"I'm so sorry I'm late Mr. Lee." Suki apologized to him, not wanting to tell him why she wasn't there on time.

"The peaches do not wait until I am ready to pick them. Now, we have a big day ahead of us! We are taking all those crates of peaches we picked this week down to the market to sell." He told her not mentioning anything more about her being late.

She smiled back as she followed him over to a wagon that was filled with crates stacked four high and covered with a green tarp tied securely to the wagon.

Suki stared in awe, she had no idea they had picked so many peaches this last week, and they only worked on the first few rows of trees, there were still a few hundred trees in the orchard.

Once Mr. Lee had the ostrich-horses harnessed up to the wagon he climbed up onto the seat and waited for Suki to join him. "Mr. Lee, Why are we going to the market right now? The stalls don't open for a few more hours."

"We need to be there before the customers come so we get the most number of buyers possible, that way the fruit doesn't go to waste. The ships will start coming into port soon too." He explained to the curious girl.

The spring-loaded seat bounced as they drove down the pitted roads to the Marketplace. Mr. Lee kept the hand break on the entire trip down the hill to keep the fully loaded wagon from getting out of control and running over his ostrich-horses. Once they got to the flat roads the ride went quicker, after five more minutes they came to a stop in front of a small building. Mr. Lee hopped down and pulled out a key and unlocked the door; it opened and he called Suki down to help him open up all the counter windows. Once all the windows were open sunlight shown through the small shop stall.

"Suki, I need you to sweep the floor and dust in here while I bring our crates inside." He told her. She began sweeping the thick layer of dust and fine sand that had come in through the small spaces in the door and windows while the peaches were out of season, pushing it outside. When that was completed she started working on all the spider webs inside. She finished just as Mr. Lee was bringing in the last of the crates. "Wonderful job Suki! You are such a hard worker, I'm really going to miss you after today; you have been my best helper!"

Slightly confused, Suki asked "Why, what's today?"

"Your month is up today… This is the last day you have to work for me." He told her. "You have come a long way from your first day with me, it was a pleasant surprise I must say. You worked hard and you were willing to learn." He told her as he brought in a small wooden lock box.

Suki felt like her heart was breaking, she hadn't realized her month was up already. She had come to love working with him, including picking up the slimy, rotten, smelly, black globs she had to pick up from underneath the trees. "I learned much more than just growing peaches Mr. Lee." Suki's eyes stung as they began to fill with tears, she didn't want this day to be her last. "I learned that there are always consequences to our actions. That I need to get rid of things in my own life that will cause me harm, like the weeds under the trees. I learned that nature doesn't wait for me, so I must always be on time. I am a Kyoshi Warrior now, and I must act on what is best for me and for our home. I also learned that hard work yields great rewards."

Before she knew it the other stalls also began to open, and it was not too long after that that people started bustling around the marketplace; first just a few then more and more. People started picking through the peaches on display, Suki had to grab a new crate, and when she turned back to the windows there was a line that was three stalls long. Suki had not realized how many people swarmed this stall when the peaches came in season. Many people started eating a peach as soon as they paid, humming at its sweet flavor as its sticky juices ran down their chins. Suki knew Mr. Lee's peaches were the best on the island, the villagers and the trade ships always looked forward to the hot summer day that he brought his first load down the hill.

Before she knew it, Mr. Lee was showing her off to her warrior training. Suki ran as quickly as she could to the dojo, she went into the changing room and quickly put on her armor, then she painted her face, training didn't wait for her to start, like the peaches don't wait for Mr. Lee to be ready to pick them. To her relief not even her mother was there when she came out. 'Hard work yields great rewards.' She closed her eyes and started to perform the 'dance' from memory; she moved slowly, gracefully, as she transitioned from one pose to another. When she finished she opened her eyes to see her mother and several other warriors all watching her. They applauded her. "That was preformed perfectly and beautifully Suki, you make me so proud." Her mother hugged her.

Suki couldn't hold in her smile, "Thank you Mama! I want to be a great Kyoshi Warrior, I want to be as good of a leader as you are!"

"You are doing great, I KNOW you will be a great leader." Her mother told her.

Training began and her mother had her come to the front row, watching every move Suki made. She remembered when Suki was four years old, she begged her mother to let her come to the dojo with her. She remembered the little girl copying every movement the warriors made, then would go into her bedroom and practice all evening long "I want to be a great leader just like you Mama." She had told her.

When training ended she changed back into her work clothes and ran as fast as she could, Mr. Lee was swamped when she left, he must still be selling the peaches if he hadn't sold out already. Sadly the other girls intercepted her again.

"Look girls!" Meena said, "Suki is heading back to her boyfriend." All the girls began to laugh just like they had earlier.

"You guys have done nothing but get me in trouble, you have been mean to me because I wouldn't do what you wanted me too. My feelings were hurt and I actually thought about doing what you wanted me to, to be friends with you still. I don't need to be friends with you. You are weeds, weeds that are choking me out. I will thrive better without you." Suki told them, she stood tall, with her shoulders back and walked proudly away from the group of girls. Suki felt so good inside, she thought it would hurt her to not be friends with them, but she would be better off without them.

When she got back to the marketplace there was still a long line of people waiting to buy the delicious peaches. "Suki, I have another job for you. I need you to take orders from the people that buy a lot of peaches, like the baker, and the trade ships. I will fill those orders in a couple days."

Suki grabbed a scroll as Mr. Lee loudly announced to all the customers in line. "Everyone that needs to place orders, please form a second line in front of my wonderful helper Suki." Suki started writing down who each person was and how much the needed. She and Mr. Lee worked together, as quickly as they could. A short time later all the peaches had been sold and Suki was still taking orders. She helped load the crates back into his wagon and close up the little stall. As Suki closed the lock on the stall door Mr. Lee called to her.

"Yeah?" She asked him as she turned around.

"You have been a wonderful helper, and I'm happy you learned more than just about growing peaches." He smiled as he handed her a small pouch.

Suki accepted it, it jingled as he dropped it into her hand. "Mr. Lee, what is this?" She asked him.

"You have gone above and beyond what I expected, I want to pay you for all your hard work." He told her.

"Oh, thank you!" She told the old man, then she wrapped her arms around his waist giving him a tight hug. "Thank you!"

…

The next morning Suki raced up the hill, ready for another day of hard work.

…

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	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not have anything to do with AtLA or Nickelodeon nor have I ever.

Chapter 6

Today was Suki's thirteenth birthday and the entire Island was bustling about preparing for a special celebration. The advancement of a Kyoshi Warrior was a highly celebrated occasion. Suki was a hard worker; she worked every morning with Mr. Lee, then she would run down the hill as fast as she could for warrior training. After training she ran back up the hill; returning to work with Mr. Lee until sunset. After dinner she went outside and practiced for hours in the moonlight. Her mother was so proud, she knew her great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, Avatar Kyoshi herself would be just as proud of Suki as she was. She was giving Suki her official assignment tonight at the celebration.

She was advancing into the Warrior ranks, no longer a Warrior in Training but an actual full-fledged Kyoshi Warrior, it was rare when a girl advanced so quickly. Suki passed every single one of the sparing matches and tests that were thrown her way, the tests required great physical endurance and the mind of a great warrior. She had to do survival training for a whole week in the woods with only her uniform, weapons included, and a canteen. She had to be able to swim for half an hour nonstop in full uniform.

Suki sat in her chair, looking at all the containers of paint sitting on the top of her dressing table. She had used them every day for the last three years, but today felt so different. She started by using the wide brush to smooth over her entire face, stopping just under her jawline, and before her ears. She picked up the next brush, this one was a great deal smaller, Suki made smooth graceful arcs with the blood red paint above her eyes carefully filling in the area, then painted her lips with the same red paint. Finally Suki picked up the fine brush, she traced the top of the red, making a smooth arc upward. She had put this makeup on over a thousand times, but today felt different and Suki wasn't sure why.

"Suki!" Her mother called to her through the bamboo curtain. "Are you ready yet? It's almost time to go."

"Almost, Mama, I just need to make sure my makeup is right." Suki called back.

"It looks just perfect, like it does every day." Her mother had pushed the curtain out of the way to take one last look at the Warrior in training, she blinked back a few tears. In only a matter of a couple hours she would never see the trainee again. Her daughter would officially be a young woman, a true Warrior.

"Okay well then I guess I'm ready… I just don't feel the same as before Mama." Suki said as she looked down at the paint again. "It feels different."

"My sweet girl, today you are becoming a woman, a little sooner than I expected, but a woman you have become. I never expected you to advance so quickly, with working for Mr. Lee and only practicing at night, it just…" She carefully dabbed at her eyes, she too had her face painted in the traditional way, and did not want it to mess up. "I love you so much my baby girl, my stubborn girl, my Kyoshi Warrior!"

"I love you too Mama!" Suki stood up and hugger her mother. "Okay, I'm as ready as I will ever be." Suki followed her mother outside, where her mother took her hand and walked with her like she did when she was little.

When they got to the large village square everyone clapped, they all turned out for this rare but welcome celebration. Being the Guest of Honor Suki was ushered to the head table and seated at the very center, her mother sat down next to her gently squeezing Suki's hand before standing again. She held her arms up, signaling everyone to take their seats. "I want to welcome you all to this very special celebration. We are all here to celebrate Suki, my beautiful daughter's advancement as well as her thirteenth birthday. It is always a joyous occasion when a girl becomes a woman. Moving from Warrior in training to becoming a full Warrior. When she first began her training she made a few mistakes, bad decisions, but she turned those bad choices into great learning experiences, which helped her grow to become the wise and brave young woman that sits before you today; as her leader I am pleased to see her grow, as her mother I am so proud of her." Suki's mother touched the corner of her napkin to the corner of her eyes as she smiled down at her daughter. "My heart swells with joy to see her advance a full two years ahead of time. She worked hard practicing her forms, he fan work, and her sword technique. Please enjoy the celebration, Suki will be given her official assignment at the end of the celebration. Thank you all for sharing this wonderful event with us. Now we will watch a few demonstrations the Warriors and Warriors in training have prepared for this celebration." Everyone applauded as she took her seat.

"Thank you Mama!" Suki said as she hugged her mother tightly. "I love you!"

They ate the delicious food as the first performance began. First was the Warriors in training, Rayn, Suryani, Kyra Pika, Kerian, and Meena got up and started preforming the dance that their leader and trainer had taught them. They were very graceful, they messed up a few times but still preformed it wonderfully. Suki was only a few months older than them but her skill was as great as the other Warriors, better even than a few of them. When they started their training two and a half years ago they couldn't look Suki in the eyes, they had done horrible things to her and they knew it, they still didn't say much to Suki. When they started their training they had to take that very same oath that Suki had taken; three years ago they thought Suki was being a snob because she was a Kyoshi Warrior in training, but now they saw that they were the ones being snobby brats, the Oath of the Kyoshi Warrior was not something you just ignore whenever you want, it was an oath you follow always, for the rest of your life.

Next up was the Kyoshi Warriors preforming fan dances and sword fights, it was an amazing sight, beautifully choreographed. And then it was time for the last performance, Suki had worked hard to learn the dance. She and her mother had prepared and they moved in perfect unison, every fan flick, every wrist twist, every foot movement in perfect sync. At the end of their performance the applause were great, people cheering and whistling. Suki's mother raised her open, golden fan high into the air, causing the people to quickly quite down. "I am now going to give Suki her official assignment as a full Kyoshi Warrior. Suki your official assignment is to be the Leader and trainer over all the Warriors in training!" She smiled at her daughter. "As their leader and trainer you decide what they do to train."

Then she turned to the Warriors in training, "Now you need to take an oath to your new Leader and trainer." All the girls nodded.

"We swear to honor the name of our founder the great Avatar Kyoshi. Everything we do is done in the name of Avatar Kyoshi. We swear our loyalty to our leader and trainer Suki. Under her we represent her, everything we do and say under her leadership reflects her. It is our duty to show respect to her and our home. We follow you no matter what we do, no matter where we are!" The six girls said in unison.

"I accept your Oath of Loyalty, and I accept my assignment." Suki said loud enough for everyone to hear her. Everyone applauded as Suki bowed to her new trainees, and they in return bowed to her.

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	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not have anything to do with AtLA or Nickelodeon nor have I ever.

Chapter 7

Suki effortlessly jogged up the tall hill to enjoy the sunrise at the same place she did every morning. She took a deep cleansing breath and slowly blew it out her mouth. "Good morning!" She said as she heard the old grower come up behind her.

"Good Morning Captain Suki!" He said handing her a cup of fresh peach tea.

"My favorite!" She said as she smelled the sweet steaming brew he handed her, she sipped carefully at it.

"I am so proud of you! I wanted to tell you last night at the ceremony but it just never seemed to be the right time." The old man told her. "I never had the chance to settle down, to have a family of my own. You are like a granddaughter to me."

"I have a secret." Suki told him. "I kinda look at you like a grandpa, Mr. Lee."

"Well if that's the case, please Suki, call me Grandpa Lee." He told her.

"Thank you, Grandpa Lee!" She told him, embracing the seasoned, but strong, old man.

"Are you ready for your first day as a leader?" The kind old man asked her.

"I am! I am so excited! I am going to be a great leader and teach the girls to be as great a warrior as I am!" Suki told him.

"I am happy to hear that! Now are you ready to start clearing out from under the trees?" Mr. Lee asked her.

"Of course!" Suki told him as they began their walk into the orchard.

…

"Good morning Warriors!" Suki said to her Warriors-in-training.

"Good morning." The girls sloppily answered, rolling their eyes at Suki.

"I want you girls to be the best Warriors you can be!" She let their sloppiness slide, she wanted to be a fun leader. "Let's begin!"

They began their forms, only preforming the moves halfheartedly. "Why are you being like this?" Suki asked them.

"Look girls," Meena said. "Suki thinks she's going to tell us what to do." The girls laughed in response.

Suki took her leader's stance in front of them. "I'm your leader, you swore an Oath of Loyalty to me. You are to do as I tell you!"

"Whatever!" They said and then they all disappeared on her.

…

Suki slowly walked up the tall hill, going back to work at the peach orchard. When she got there Mr. Lee was still inside so she took a seat staring out at the huge sea that surrounded their small island. She was brokenhearted, last night they swore their allegiance to her as their leader, but training today was just like when they were children, they treated her like she meant nothing to them. They wouldn't even listen to her, Suki didn't know what to do. She was afraid that if she told her mother, she would think she were a failure as a leader and shouldn't have been given the assignment she was given.

"So what are you going to do?" Grandpa Lee asked her, after three years he knew Suki so well.

"I'm not sure yet… I was just going to train them like I did, telling them to practice at home too." Suki told him. "But they won't listen to me."

"You run up that hill every morning, at first you were huffing and puffing every day, and now it doesn't even phase you. When you fought your examination fight, the one that showed you were ready to be an official Kyoshi warrior, you didn't even break a sweat… because?" He asked her.

"Because I built up my endurance climbing the huge hill twice a day, every day." Suki finished.

"You need to have them build up their physical endurance too." The old man finished for her. "And as for them listening to you; be strong, be immovable. Don't let them walk all over you!"

"So maybe tomorrow…" Suki started.

"I think it should be sooner." He interjected. "How abut we get to work, maybe you will think of something as we work."

…

Suki held her head high in determination as she marched down the hill, she had come up with the perfect training exercise for the girls. She went to each of their homes and ordered them down to the beach in full dress, makeup and all.

A short time later there were six very angry looking girls and Suki. "We are here to have Survival Training! You WILL do as I say, IF you do not you will be running what I call The Unagi Run."

"You can't make us!" The girls argued.

"I can and I will! I am your leader and you will train as I see fit! And for that we will now run. The course starts here at the beach, we will ALL run up the hill in to town…. We will continue all the way up to the top of the hill at the Peach Orchard then all the way back here! Each time one of you fails, or argues, or even complains we will ALL run longer. NOW GO!"

"But!" Suryani started.

"THAT'S TWO LAPS! MOVE!" Suki yelled and all the girls started running, Suki ran right along with them.

By the time they all got back to the beach the second time all the girls except Suki were out of breath and ready to collapse. "Good run girls, have some water then we will all be laying down and going to sleep!" Suki barked.

"How… are… you… not… out… of… breathe?" Kyra asked in between breaths.

"Because I ran up that hill twice a day every day, even in the winter when the trees were bare." Suki answered.

"Do… we… get… pillows… or… blankets?" Pika asked.

"This is survival training, do you have pillows or blankets on you? Doesn't look like it, sooooo nope!" Suki told them as they passed around a water pouch. "I'd get to sleep quickly, we have an early morning!"

The girls groaned as their sore bodies settled into comfortable sleeping positions in the beach sand, a cool breeze blew in from the sea and the girls were grateful their uniforms were thick. After their hard run it didn't take long for them all to fall asleep.

"Aaahhhhhhh!" They all screamed as Suki whistled long and loud, the sun wasn't even up yet.

"Time to run!" Suki told them. "We are going to the top of the Hill!"

"The sun isn't even up yet!" The gripped.

Suki pulled out a small piece of paper and a piece of charcoal; she made a mark on the paper. "That's the point! And that's one lap for griping, you WILL listen to me and you WILL do as I say when I say it! To the top of the hill!" She barked then began running. Suki lead the way, all the way up to the top of the hill.

Suki took a long deep breath at the top of the hill, they all watched as the sun came up turning the sky brilliant shades of orange and yellow. It was one of the most beautiful sights any of the girls had ever seen.

"Good Morning Suki! Do we have help today?" Mr. Lee came up behind them.

"Good Morning, Grandpa Lee!" Suki hugged him. "I am training the girls exactly as I trained. That includes working with you." Suki heard the girls groan; she pulled out the piece of paper and made another mark on it. "Okay girls follow me, I'm going to show you what we will be doing for the next several days!" She led the girls over to her tree, the first one she ever worked. She knelt down and began to clear away the weeds that had popped up, that were suffocating the roots of the old tree; dropping black mushy globs into a metal bucket.

"Eewwww." The girls said as they heard the sickeningly squishy thunk the black glob made.

"Get over it girls we have a whole orchard to do, you saw what I did: now you do it." Suki assigned them each a row to work on and gave each one a bucket for the rotten fruit.

Suki wiped the sweat off her brow, judging by the angle of the shadows the trees were casting it was time to head down to the dojo for group training. "Okay girl's great work! It's time to go, we have group exercises to do!" Suki drank deeply from her water pouch and passed it around, each girl took several gulps before passing it to the next.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not have anything to do with AtLA or Nickelodeon nor have I ever.

Chapter 8

As the troop of girls ascended the hill the sweet scent of ripe peaches filled the air. Today was the first day of harvest. Everyone on the Island always looked forward to today. By tomorrow morning Mr. Lee's little booth would be open and the townspeople would be lining up to be one of the first to bring the sweet, juicy peaches home.

"Good morning girls." Mr. Lee said as they reached the top of the hill. Their time working with him had drastically changed the young warriors' attitudes. Suki had molded them into Warriors that even Avatar Kyoshi would have been proud of.

"Good morning!" They all answered back.

"Are we going to share our little ritual with them?" Suki asked him.

"Of course! It has been done since the very first harvest from these trees." Mr. Lee said then walked inside his house.

"Ritual?" Meena asked suspiciously.

"It is a wonderful tradition!" Suki said then also went into the house. She and Mr. Lee came back out moments later. They each had a tray in their hands, "Please hold on to these until he says it's time to eat them". Suki walked around passing out the cups of steaming peach tea, while Mr. Lee passed out the peach rolls, his family's secret recipe.

"On the first day of harvest," He began. "We have breakfast together, there is two parts to this special breakfast. This breakfast was prepared with the fruit from the first tree, the first planted, and the first ever harvested." He said as he stood next to the large peach tree that shaded his kitchen window.

"The first part," Suki stepped in, "Is the wonderful breakfast rolls that he spends hours cooking and pureeing the peaches then baking them. He also worked hard to make this wonderful tea."

"Please enjoy the first part now!" Mr. Lee was excited to be sharing his family tradition with these proud young Warriors. The group hummed as they chewed the still warm rolls and drank the heavenly tea. Mr. Lee was happy that he was finally able to share this tradition with others again. "For the second part," Mr. Lee said as they all finished their breakfast. "I need you to follow me to the tool shed."

When they got there he started passing out the apron baskets and picking poles. "I want you girls to go stand by the very first trees you started working on."

Each girl stood next to the first tree in the first of the long rows they had spent months taking care of everyday. All the girls watched as Suki looked for the biggest peach on the tree, positioning the basket around it then with one smooth movement she picked the peach and took it out of the basket. "Would you all please pick a nice one like I just did?" Suki instructed. The girls obeyed and in just a few minutes all the girls held a large peach in their hands.

"The second part is enjoying the fruits of your labor!" Mr. Lee told them then took a huge bite of the peach he had picked.

"The peach is only as good as the person taking care of the trees." Suki told her trainees. Then took a bite of her peach, all the girls bit into their peaches, they closed their eyes and smiled as they chewed the mouthful of fruit.

"That is one of the best peaches I have ever eaten!" Kyra said as she, wiped the juices from her face, all the other girls followed in that same action.

"Okay girls we have a lot of work to do. Also I am canceling training today because picking all these peaches is just as much of a workout as training." Suki told them all.

…

The girls worked until the sky turned a beautiful shade of purple, the brightest stars already shone from their place in the heavens.

"I want to thank all of you, this is one of the largest harvests… not just harvests, one of the largest yields this orchard has had in a long time! It is all due to your cooperation and hard work! We already have enough picked to sell several cart loads tomorrow." The girls' hard work had filled nearly a hundred crates today alone. Mr. Lee's cart was already stacked high with as many crates as was safe to drive down the hill with. "I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow morning at my little shop."

"We look forward to helping you tomorrow." The girls told him.

"Goodnight girls." He told them.

"Goodnight Mr. Lee." All the girls smiled before they started the trek back down the hill, chatting and joking with each other.

…

Suki was up before the rooster-pig announced the new day, she didn't get much sleep. Her mind was preoccupied with how much the girls had changed, changed for the better. They had gone from bossy brats to having the hearts and souls of true warriors.

Suki washed up and dressed for the day, when she came out of her room he mother called to her. "Suki you look like you need to talk to someone." Her mother could always read her.

"Mama," Suki beamed, "The girls have made great progress in working towards becoming great warriors."

"I think I may need to take some notes, you have turned them around. When they turned 10 they were not as ready to be warriors as you were, they didn't take it seriously. When you became the youngest warrior in almost a hundred years I knew you would be the one who was destined to take my place when I retire."

"That won't be for a long time though Mama." Suki told her mother.

"I know, and you proved your abilities as a leader again by shaping those girls into great warriors in only six months. You have no idea how proud I am of you!" Her mother brought her into a tight hug. "I love you so much!"

…

Suki and her Warriors in training were already dusting off the small building in which the peaches were sold every year when Mr. Lee got there. "You all are wonderful workers… It makes me sad that you will become full warriors one day and I won't be able to see you every day."

The girls looked from each other then turned to him. "Last night, after we went home we talked to each other."

"Huh?" Suki asked, she hadn't talked to any of them the night before.

"Suki wasn't there," Meena started, "We decided that like Suki, we will start our day helping you. We had a lot of fun and well… the fruits of our labors were sweeter than anything we have ever tasted."

"And soon, the rest of the island will be able enjoy the fruits of our labor." Suryani added.

"Well girls, we have a long day ahead of us." Mr. Lee said as he unlocked the door to his stand. "Let's get this done, there is a line already forming."

The fruit sold fast, more crates meant more sales and larger orders from the baker. Ships stocked their galleys with as many crates as they could get their hands on. Mr. Lee and a few of the girls made three trips to the orchard and back. Every single crate was sold and there were orders for more, everyone on the Island was buzzing about how wonderful this year's harvest tasted.

"You have done well girls!" Suki told them. "I know that it is now time to inform my mother that you are all ready to graduate, to become full-fledged Kyoshi Warriors!"

"Thank you so much Captain Suki." They all said respectfully bowing to her. "We have learned much under your tutelage."

"Okay now that you have shown respect to your Captain, you can now show your excitement." Suki bowed back to them. All the girls started jumping up and down and squealing in excitement. Suki stood still as she watched the girls. They were no longer the bossy trouble makers that bullied her, they respected her and in return earned her respect.

All the girls turned to face Suki. "We are deeply sorry for all the trouble we caused, for picking on you, and for disrespecting you, Captain Suki." Rayn told her then all the girl brought Suki into a group hug. "Thank you for teaching us to be the best warriors we could be."


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED THE CHARACTERS IN ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED NICKELODEON. HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH THE WRITERS OR ANIMATORS OF ATLA. I HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH NICKELODEON.

I have written prequels to Together Again, they are part of what I call my TAU (Together Again Universe) here is a list of them along with its Summary

A Second First Date; Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… You don't always get a second chance.

Nightmares; A One-Shot Prequel to Together Again. Aang saved the world, he faced Ozai on his own. Everyone kept saying that he was a great hero, that he was so brave. He wore a brave face and acted all the hero they thought he was. But at night in his sleep he was a scared boy, scared for his life as he tried to get away from a psycho Firebender. The Battle came back at night.

Anila's Story; She was ready to travel the world the moment she turned 16. Little did she know, life never goes as expected and that a young Airbending Master just starting out on her own is no exception. Will the winds of change bring her happiness and fulfillment? Or will she only to bed led to sorrow and regret? *Complete*

I have a new collection of One-shots called Dear Diary: They are Katara's thoughts that take place during the time they traveled the world before the Hundred Year War ended.

Other stories I am currently working on (Together Again Universe are marked as TAU)

Across the Wastelands: (TAU) Aang is sent on a journey by King Bumi… One that only he can take… To search for something very important, except Bumi wouldn't tell him what he needed to find! What will he find? (Completed, takes place during Chapter 132)

Embers: (TAU) This story is a spinoff from Together Again. After Mai's death Zuko took his daughter to Ba Sing Se for a vacation; he wanted to get as far from the Fire Nation as he could, leaving nightmares and bad memories behind. One day Zuko took his daughter to the Zoo that Aang had created and that is where he met the beautiful green-eyed, chocolate brown haired beauty Taryn.

Chapter 9

Suki was waiting with her arms folded across her chest for the other girls; the sun was setting, casting beautiful oranges and yellows, with a beautiful shade of purple along with a few scattered stars. They were supposed to meet her at the docks over an hour ago for a very special training exercise. It was time for their yearly survival training trip. They had one every year since they became warriors in training; this year was different, this year they were all full fledged Kyoshi Warriors. The training exorcise was one month long on an island with no money and only the supplies they left home with.

When they were still in training they always did their big survival training trip with all the older Kyoshi warriors. They learned everything from how to find foods that were edible, what is poisonous, how to use special medicinal herbs, and finding and building shelters to actually sailing a boat on their own.

Sailing at night was a bit easier than sailing during the day because it was easier to navigate by the stars, but they still needed to load supplies that they would need onto the boat. Their boat wasn't huge but it was big enough for them. Other than the Kyoshi Warrior ship, whose flag had a gold fan on a dark green field, was one of several docked at the moment. Besides their boat, there was the regular three fishing boats that were always docked for the night, and four Southern Water Tribe ships that had arrived just this morning to restock, their ships were about the same size as the one Suki was preparing to sail soon. Even though Suki was not on dock duty she couldn't help listening to the men, making sure they were following all the rules and keeping the noise down.

"We will be shipping off tomorrow!" A copper-skinned man with his hair pulled back except for a few strange ponytails near his right eye said to the group of men just coming back from the market. Suki had never seen anyone from the Water Tribes before, she had always thought Water Tribe people would be very pale from being inside all the time because of the cold. He started ordering the men around directing them where to put all the supplies they had just purchased. Word around town was that they left their homes to assist the Earth Kingdom in the war against the Fire Nation. Nobody from Kyoshi Island went to aid in the war and it made Suki think… If these men, from so far away left their homes and families behind, not even from the Earth Kingdom, but helping anyways, why hadn't Kyoshi Island done anything to help? They were part of the Earth Kingdom. It didn't sit right with Suki, but she pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

The sound of the other warriors approaching drew Suki's attention away from the Water Tribe men. When she turned to them she said a few of the island's teenage boys with the girls, they were all laughing and giggling. Suki rolled her eyes then called out to them. "You're late! You were supposed to be here over an hour ago!"

"Hey Suki!" Malo said, "You… uhhh… You look nice in your leader's headband."

"Thanks I guess." Suki said then turned to address the group of fourteen year old girls. "We need to get this stuff loaded, like right now! We were supposed to leave before sunset, now it will be full dark before we are on our way! Load NOW!" She yelled.

"Hey Suki, it's our fault… We can help you girls load up." Koruk told her.

"Kyoshi Warriors are proud, strong women! We don't need men to do the work for us!" Suki replied, then she looked up at the purple in the sky growing darker and darker with every passing moment and sighed. "I guess I can accept your offer this once."

"Malo, Rolik, Ryu, and Kyu, get to work helping the girls get their boat loaded up!" Koruk called out.

"Warriors! Not 'girls'" Suki corrected him. "Help the Warriors get their boat loaded up!" She hated being called a girl, it was almost an insult to her. She was just as capable, if not better than any boy her age and she would happily give them a demonstration if the needed one. With the boys helping, the boat was loaded with the supplies for their survival exercise in no time at all, getting the girls on the way to a remote island just off the Coast of Whale Tail Island. The island they were heading for was so small that it was not marked on any map. The island has been used for Warrior training ever since Avatar Kyoshi herself formed the Kyoshi Warriors over three hundred years ago. This training trip was a time-honored tradition.

"Hey Suki, which do you think is the cutest of the guys?" Kerian asked her.

"I don't know… I don't pay much attention to them." Suki told them.

"I think Ryu is the cutest!" Meena called out.

"No he's not, Kyu is much cuter." Kyra told them.

"How can you even say that!?" Meena protested.

"Easy, just like this 'Kyu is much cuter!'" Kyra repeated.

"You just think so because the names Kyu and Kyra are so much alike!" Pika laughed.

"What is with you guys?" Suki interjected. "First of all we should be concentrating on our training, we have no time for boys. Secondly, Kyu and Ryu are identical… they look exactly the same!"

"What's wrong with liking boys Suki?" Suryani asked her. "We are going to get married later, so I see nothing wrong with it."

"Marriage? It'll be several years before we even need to start thinking about marriage. Our duty right now is to protect our home, protect our people. There's a war going on out there, what's going to happen if the Fire Nation decides to attack our little island?" Suki asked them.

"We've stayed out of it for this long. What, are they going to do? Decide one day 'lets raid the peaches from this island'?" Pika asked her.

"Our island is not safe as long as the war was still being fought." Suki told them.

…

Suki was annoyed the entire four days it took on the boat to get to the island, all the girls did was talk about boys. The boat was not big but Suki still scheduled in Warrior training, one on one fights. This trip was NOT a vacation and she had to remind her squad several times a day. "Okay Warriors, we need to secure the boat, unload our supplies and make came before dark!" Suki called out to them, the sun already hung low in the western sky, and twilight would be on them soon.

They set up camp in the same exact spot every year, they were taught by all the adult warriors how to find a perfect campsite. It had to be close enough to shore to keep watch for passing ships, it needed to be close to a fresh water source so that they wouldn't use too much body water to get water, which can be very dangerous and result in dehydration. Their campsite needed to be somewhat hidden from view due to the war. Finally they need to be close enough to the woods so that they can hunt and gather foods to sustain them and collect firewood to cook and keep themselves warm. The spot they use every year had all of this.

"Great job warriors! You did a wonderful job setting up camp!" Suki praised them. "We can all relax and have some fun now… we can tell scary stories! I have a surprise for you all! Mr. Lee gave me a big bag of his peach candy he makes special!"

"Really?! That candy is so good!" The girls said in unison. Suki pulled a sack out of her pack shaking it a bit so that they could hear the candies clicking together.

"A whole sack!" Suki grinned. She opened the sack and took a handful of candy out and passed it to Meena who was sitting next to her, who took a handful and passed it on; this continued until the bag went completely around the circle. "Just one announcement before the fun starts; after breakfast tomorrow morning training begins, first we need to go into the woods and set traps for meat. Then gather berries and nuts, and finally we need to collect enough water to fill the barrel half full, the amount we need every day."

"Suki?" Pika raised her hand, Suki nodded to her. "How come we never fill it all the way? Wouldn't it give us a day off of collecting water?"

"If we fill the barrel algae will start to grow because the water is not moving… and the algae will make us sick, that's why we only ever fill the water barrel halfway." Suki explained so that all the girls would understand it.

…

A week had passed going perfectly as planned, hunting and gathering, water collection, daily exercises… Just as it was supposed to. Then something happened that nobody ever expected, not even the adult squad had encountered the problem.

"Suki! Suki! Suki!" Suryani called as she ran back to camp, she had been assigned the job of checking on their boat for that day. The urgency in her voice had Suki running to her just as fast as Suryani was running to Suki.

"What's wrong Suryani?" Suki asked when the meet. The girl was hunched over trying her best to catch her breath quickly, there was no time to waste sitting down. Suki handed the girl her water pouch.

"A boat!" Suryani barely managed to say.

"A boat?" Suki's heart started to pump faster, adrenalin kicking in.

"It had Fire Nation colors on their flags!" The girl said. "They just landed!" Suki helped her back to camp then called for the other girls.

"Exercise is over!" The announcement immediately caught their attention. "A boat flying Fire Nation colors had landed on our island, it is time to put everything we have ever learned into action."

"But… we don't feel ready Suki!" Pika told her.

"You are ready! If you weren't you wouldn't be full warriors! Every single one of you are ready!" Suki told them. The girls took a collective breath in then out, took a fighting stance as the bushes in front of them rustled.

…

A/N Now that you are at the bottom of the page, please take a few moments and leave me a review!


	10. Chapter 10

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED THE CHARACTERS IN ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED NICKELODEON. HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH THE WRITERS OR ANIMATORS OF ATLA. I HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH NICKELODEON.

I have written prequels to Together Again, they are part of what I call my TAU (Together Again Universe) here is a list of them along with its Summary

A Second First Date; Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… You don't always get a second chance.

Nightmares; A One-Shot Prequel to Together Again. Aang saved the world, he faced Ozai on his own. Everyone kept saying that he was a great hero, that he was so brave. He wore a brave face and acted all the hero they thought he was. But at night in his sleep he was a scared boy, scared for his life as he tried to get away from a psycho Firebender. The Battle came back at night.

Anila's Story; She was ready to travel the world the moment she turned 16. Little did she know, life never goes as expected and that a young Airbending Master just starting out on her own is no exception. Will the winds of change bring her happiness and fulfillment? Or will she only to bed led to sorrow and regret?

I have a new collection of One-shots called Dear Diary: They are Katara's thoughts that take place during the time they traveled the world before the Hundred Year War ended.

Other stories I am currently working on (Together Again Universe are marked as TAU)

Across the Wastelands: (TAU) Aang is sent on a journey by King Bumi… One that only he can take… To search for something very important, except Bumi wouldn't tell him what he needed to find! What will he find? (Completed, takes place during Chapter 132)

Embers: (TAU) This story is a spinoff from Together Again. After Mai's death Zuko took his daughter to Ba Sing Se for a vacation; he wanted to get as far from the Fire Nation as he could, leaving nightmares and bad memories behind. One day Zuko took his daughter to the Zoo that Aang had created and that is where he met the beautiful green-eyed, chocolate brown haired beauty Taryn.

Chapter 10

Suki could feel her heart beating in her chest as they waited, the voices got louder and louder as the men came closer.

"I'm scared." Meena whispered.

"I am too." Suki whispered back. "It's okay to be afraid, just don't let it take hold of you."

"We don't even have our weapons or armor on us!" Pika whimpered.

"Hey, I saw that girl run this way!" A man said.

"They saw me!" Suryani said, fear builing up in her.

"Don't let it control you!" Suki confidently told them trying to make the girls feel braver.

"Look what we have here!" One man grinned widely. "Hey guys I found a whole group of pretty little girls!" He called behind him.

"It looks like a party!" Another man said as he too emerged from the bushes.

"DO NOT COME ANY CLOSER!" Suki yelled to the men. "We will fight you!"

"Aaawww the little girl thinks she can fight us." The first man said.

"We landed for supplies… but it looks like we're going to get some rest and relaxation." A third man said.

"I HAVE WARNED YOU!" Suki yelled. "WE CAN AND WILL DEFEND OURSELVES!"

"Look the little girl thinks she can fight Fire Nation soldiers." The second man laughed as he walked up to Suki, stopping just in front of her. "Where are your Daddies? You can't be here all alone."

"We are Kyoshi Warriors!" Suki said. "Founded by Avatar Kyoshi! We do not rely on men for protection. Men rely on us for protection."

"Have any of you guys ever heard of Kashowie Warriors?" The man asked his cohorts. Before the man knew it Suki's foot had made contact with his head knocking him out, he landed face first in the dirt.

"What the…" The third man said, the men stood dumbfounded… completely shocked by the girl's action and swiftness.

The girls took this moment of confusion to retrieve their weapons, preparing themselves for the coming fight.

"You should not have done that little girls!" The first man said to them. "I don't mind a little fight… It could make for some fun though!"

"It has been a while since we've seen women… and these girls sure are pretty little things." The men advanced on the girls.

The girls opened their fans, showing the men they weren't messing around; that they were ready to fight.

"Look…" one man laughed. "They're going to fan us to death."

"Oh…. My head!" The man on the ground moaned as he got up.

"Sir! Your face!" Another man said.

"What… what about my face?" He asked.

"It's covered in blood!" The third soldier told him.

The man touched his face wiping the sticky substance with his fingers then held them up to examine them. "You… YOU LITTLE BITCH!' He charged at Suki who easily sidestepped his attack, grabbing him by his belt and flung him around sending him flying back at the other soldiers, landing in a pile.

Anger burned in the men's eye as they got up, all charging at the girls. They used everything they had learned since they first became Warriors in training. Jumping, slashing, spinning, and swiping at the men.

Suki abandoned her fans for her preferred weapon, her katana. The men were surprised but after fighting the girls for as long as they had, they now knew these girls were not playing.

"Retreat!" The man with the bloody face yelled as he ran for their ship. The girls chased them as the men sailed off in their own ship. They stood on the shore weapons still out, until the boat was out of sight.

Suki gave sigh of relief and collapsed in the wet sand. "Suki… you were amazing! You saved us!" Kerian said as she looked down at her.

"You girls fought wonderfully." Suki said, she was starting to feel weak.

"Let's go back to camp." Pika said stretching her hand out for Suki to take. Suki's arm went limp when she tried to take the hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired." Suki answered as she tried to sit up bet fell back.

The girls gasped as they saw red seeping through her dress. "Oh my spirits! Suki's hurt!" Meena yelled. "Suryani, Kyra make a stretcher! Pika, Kerian we need clean tools to work with, clean them in the boiling water. Rayna help me cut her dress, we need to find out how bad she got hit, and we need to stop the bleeding."

It didn't take long to find the source of her bleeding, she has been stabbed deep in her lower abdomen. "We… We are going to fix this Suki! You'll back to normal in no time." Meena told her as they carried her back to camp on the stretcher. "Don't… don't leave us! We need you Suki… We need you to lead us."

"I'm so tired…" Suki whispered as her eyes began to close.

"I'm sorry Suki… We have been terrible friends, getting you in trouble… We just well… we were jealous that you were a better Warrior than we are… You still are and we need you!" Rayn said as she began sewing the hole closed.

"I… I forgive you." Suki whispered as she slipped into a deep sleep. The girls worked tirelessly, in shifts, taking turns cleaning and dressing the wound, feeding her broth, and giving her water. They hunted down herbs that eased the pain and nourished the body.

Two day had passed without Suki waking up. "We need to take her back to the village." Meena told the other girls.

"We're supposed to be here for a whole month." Kyra said.

"I know but I think we better go back! We have no idea how to care or her properly… The wound isn't healing… and… and I think it's infected." Meena told them. We need to load the boat and get her home."

…

"You did the right thing girls, thank you." Suki's mother told the young warriors. "I need to talk to the doctor now."

"She's strong." The doctor said as Avalon entered the bedroom. "I don't want to, but I have to open it back up… it's infected and I need to cut out the dead tissue."

"She's a fighter. Do what you have to." Suki's mother told him.

"Here is a list of things I need." The doctor told her. "The faster I get them the sooner I can start working."

…

Suki's mother and father waited patiently, worrying about their daughter. Suki's group of Kyoshi Warriors explained to her parents what happened, the men, what they wanted to do, Suki's bravery and what they did to help her.

"We tried to clean it but… we didn't have anything that would clean it properly." Meena told them. Meena had stepped into the leader's position while Suki was out.

Hours had passed before the doctor and his nurse came out of Suki's bedroom. "I need to speak with you and your husband."

"We better get home anyways… Thank you for letting us stay." The girls said then headed out the door.

"Is… is she going to be okay?" Her father asked.

"Would you mind if we sat down?" The doctor asked.

"Yes… sure." Suki's mother said.

"I'll make us some tea." The Nurse told them.

"We got all the infection out… Those girls did a great job. They cleaned it and sewed it up well… Now I have some bad news… whatever she was stabbed with went all the way into her womb… I had to cut some of it out… I don't know if she'll ever be able to have children. But she can live a long happy life." He shook his head. "You can go in and see her now… She will be asleep for a while." He reached into his bag and pulled out a few vials of liquid. "Give her this for the pain… It's a plant extract."

"You saved her that's all that matters!" Suki's mom said, tears pouring down her face as she went in and sat with her daughter.

Avalon never left her daughter's side, she wanted to be there when Suki woke up. She wasn't sure how to tell her daughter she would probably never had children.

"M… Mama?" Suki barely squeaked, the last thing Suki remembered was being stitched up by her girls.

"Oh Suki! You're awake!" Her mother wrapped her arms around her daughter. "I was so scared."

"How… How did I get home?" Suki asked.

"Your girls… You trained them well." She mother beamed at her daughter. "I knew you would be a wonderful leader and teacher."

"I just did my best." Suki told her mom. "I'd like to see them soon."

"You need to stay in bed you have a lot of healing to do… Are you in any pain?" Her mother asked.

"No… Not right now." Suki moved slightly and winced.

"Baby, don't be brave for me…" Her mother brushed the hair off of Suki's forehead and kissed it. "You have always been a strong warrior… Let me take care of you."

…

A/N Now that you are at the bottom of the page, please take a few moments and leave me a review!


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED THE CHARACTERS IN ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED NICKELODEON. HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH THE WRITERS OR ANIMATORS OF ATLA. I HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH NICKELODEON**.

**I have written prequels to Together Again, they are part of what I call my TAU (Together Again Universe) here is a list of them along with its Summary**

**A Second First Date**; Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… You don't always get a second chance.

**Nightmares**; A One-Shot Prequel to Together Again. Aang saved the world, he faced Ozai on his own. Everyone kept saying that he was a great hero, that he was so brave. He wore a brave face and acted all the hero they thought he was. But at night in his sleep he was a scared boy, scared for his life as he tried to get away from a psycho Firebender. The Battle came back at night.

**Anila's Story**; She was ready to travel the world the moment she turned 16. Little did she know, life never goes as expected and that a young Airbending Master just starting out on her own is no exception. Will the winds of change bring her happiness and fulfillment? Or will she only to bed led to sorrow and regret?

**I have a new collection of One****-shots called Dear Diary: **They are Katara's thoughts that take place during the time they traveled the world before the Hundred Year War ended.

**Other stories I am currently working on (Together Again Universe are marked as TAU)**

**Across the Wastelands**: **(TAU) **Aang is sent on a journey by King Bumi… One that only he can take… To search for something very important, except Bumi wouldn't tell him what he needed to find! What will he find? (Completed, takes place during Chapter 132)

**Embers**: **(TAU)** This story is a spinoff from Together Again. After Mai's death Zuko took his daughter to Ba Sing Se for a vacation; he wanted to get as far from the Fire Nation as he could, leaving nightmares and bad memories behind. One day Zuko took his daughter to the Zoo that Aang had created and that is where he met the beautiful green-eyed, chocolate brown haired beauty Taryn**.**

…

**Chapter 11**

As Suki's body grew stronger her spirit grew weaker; even though she was only thirteen she had dreamed of the day that her daughters would become Kyoshi Warriors, following in the family tradition. A tradition started by her great, great, great, great, great grandmother Avatar Kyoshi herself; Suki felt like she was letting all her family down, unable to continue the line. Whenever she had visitors she acted like you regular self; talking about how she's doing and how she's feeling… But she never told anyone how she really felt. _'What's the point of even continuing to be a Kyoshi Warrior?' _She'd ask herself, never able to come up with a strong enough reason to stay. Suki decided that after her recuperation she was going to officially resign from the ranks. She had put a lot of thought into this decision, and lost a lot of sleep over it too.

"Suki?" Her mother sad as she looked inside the door of her room.

"Yeah?" Suki said sadly.

"You have visitors!" Her mother told her.

"Mom…" She sighed. "I really don't feel up to visitors today."

"The doctor told you last week that you need to start moving around, if you don't you're not going to heal right." He mother told her as she waved the visitors inside.

"Come on Suki!" Rayn said as she walked into the small bedroom followed by the rest of Suki's squad. "We're not going to let you waist away into nothing! Get dressed, we're going out!"

"Going where?" Suki asked them.

"Nope! It's a surprise!" Pika told her as Meena tossed Suki's clothes onto the bed.

"Why?" Suki asked. "Why do you guys even care?"

"Because you saved us Suki!" Kyra told her. "If it weren't for you who knows what could have happened."

"Suki!" Her mother barked. "Up now! That's an order!"

Suki knew better than to disobey an order, even if she was planning on quitting the Kyoshi Warriors she hasn't yet and the Leader just gave her an order. She threw back her blankets and turned herself to put her feet on the floor. She stood up carefully, she didn't get out of bed except to use the restroom so her legs were kind of weak, she wobbled a bit but then caught herself. "Okay girls, let me get dressed." Suki told them and they all filed out of her room.

As Suki changed she examined the six inch scar on her lower abdomen. She was happy to be alive, she owed her squad her life, even though they insist it's the other way around. Once she was finally dressed she took hold of the cane Grandpa Lee made for her from a peach tree branch, and walked into the front room. "Okay where are we going?" Suki asked them.

"It's a surprise!" Suryani told her, "Just follow us!"

"Okay, okay!" Suki said as they all left the house. After walking for a while they stopped at the swimming pond with the waterfall. There was a beautiful picnic set up for them all. "What is this?" She asked the girls.

"Well… We figured you needed to get out of bed, out of your room, but most of all out of your house!" Pika told her. "We will always loyally follow you Captain Suki, you have trained us to be strong warriors, you have risked your life to save us even though we treated you so cruelly when we were younger, there is no way we could possibly thank you… So we decided that no matter what you say, where you go, what you do… We will be by your side no matter what."

"Thank you girls." Suki smiled. "You are my Squad, I would always do everything I can to protect you." This made her feel better but at the same time so much worse. The girls enjoyed the picnic and even did a bit of swimming before walking Suki back to her house.

Suki was worn out from the walk and all the fun they had. It felt good to just relay and play, no warrior business, no expectations, and no high standards to keep… Just fun. After a wonderful meal with her parents Suki went into her room and it didn't take long for her to fall asleep. As tired as she was she kept waking up tossing and turning, she need to clear her mind, and the best place to do it was her favorite place on the whole island.

Suki dressed herself, with her cane in one hand and a lantern in her other she went for a walk, she walked up the tall hill that lead to the peach orchard. Suki stood next to the first tree she ever worked on, she rested her hand on it, as she examined the tree she found where a limb had been sawed off. She look down at her cane. "You were scared to help me." She told it. "We will both heal."

"It will grow back stronger, where the one limb was cut, two will grow back." Grandpa Lee told her. "I saw your lantern as you came up the hill." He handed Suki a hot cup of peach tea as the pig-rooster announced the coming morning. "You will also become stronger."

"I don't think so." Suki frowned. "Mom told me the doctor said I may never have any children of my own… I will never have a daughter to teach… I think I'm going to resign from the Kyoshi warriors, I have nothing to offer."

"Suki…" Grandpa Lee put his hands on her shoulders, "I never married, and I never had children… I left nothing to offer this orchard, no blood relative to pass it to when my time ends… … That doesn't mean I give up on it… When my time ends I will pass it to whom I see fit… And I know that you will have someone to pass leadership over to when it comes time for that."

"But the doctor said…" Suki was cut off by Grandpa Lee.

"Blood doesn't matter, it's what's in your heart that makes you family… I have a smart, beautiful, strong Granddaughter." He told her. "One that I am proud of every day... One that I love very much!" Suki wiped away a few tears than wrapped her arms around the old man.

"I love you too, Grandpa Lee." She told him. "You always know what to say to help me feel better. I've been going through so many different emotions as I thought about what I have, what I am, what I won't have, and what I have to offer."

"You have a Warrior's spirit Suki!" He told her. "You are a Warrior, one of the best in a long time, you don't have to be blood to have family… And what you have to offer is your strong spirit!"

"I… I didn't think of it that way." Suki told him.

"Now go back home!" He told her. "Rest, heal, and like the tree, come back twice as strong as you were before."

"Okay." This was the best Suki felt since she got hurt. "Thank you Grandpa Lee, I will." The old man watched as she walked back home.

…

"Good morning Mama!" Suki said as she came walking out of her bedroom.

"It's not really morning anymore, but you seem happier, what's got you happier?" Her mother asked.

"I didn't sleep well last night, so I went on a walk." Suki explained. "It was just before the pig rooster crowed… I walked up the hill to Grandpa Lee's… He helped me see what I had overlooked since you told me what the doctor said… I was going to quit being a warrior because I wouldn't have a daughter to teach like you taught me."

"Oh, Sweetie!" Her mother looked heartbroken. "I don't…"

"Mom, I'm not going to quit, he helped me look deeper into my heart and see that I have more than just a daughter to offer the Kyoshi Warriors." Suki told her. "I'm ready to start training again Mama, I'm ready to return to my position as leader of my squad."

"That's my girl!" Her mother said as she hugged her daughter tightly.

"I will become twice as strong as I was before, I won't let anything keep me from being the greatest warrior I can be… No boys, no distractions." Suki told her mother.

"I will always support you decisions." Her mother told her.

"I'm going to go walk down to the beach than up to the Peach orchard. I need to get strong again." Suki said as she headed for the door.

"Suki wait…" Her mother called to her.

"What Mama?" She asked.

"You really should eat something, you need food to help you grow stronger." Her mother told her.

"Yeah." Suki chuckled softy. "I guess I need food too."

…

**A/N Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, they help encourage me to keep writing for you guys!**


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED THE CHARACTERS IN ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED NICKELODEON. HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH THE WRITERS OR ANIMATORS OF ATLA. I HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH NICKELODEON**.

**I have written prequels to Together Again, they are part of what I call my TAU (Together Again Universe) here is a list of them along with its Summary**

**A Second First Date**; Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… You don't always get a second chance.

**Nightmares**; A One-Shot Prequel to Together Again. Aang saved the world, he faced Ozai on his own. Everyone kept saying that he was a great hero, that he was so brave. He wore a brave face and acted all the hero they thought he was. But at night in his sleep he was a scared boy, scared for his life as he tried to get away from a psycho Firebender. The Battle came back at night.

**Anila's Story**; She was ready to travel the world the moment she turned 16. Little did she know, life never goes as expected and that a young Airbending Master just starting out on her own is no exception. Will the winds of change bring her happiness and fulfillment? Or will she only to bed led to sorrow and regret?

**I have a new collection of One****-shots called Dear Diary: **They are Katara's thoughts that take place during the time they traveled the world before the Hundred Year War ended.

**Other stories I am currently working on (Together Again Universe are marked as TAU)**

**Across the Wastelands**: **(TAU) **Aang is sent on a journey by King Bumi… One that only he can take… To search for something very important, except Bumi wouldn't tell him what he needed to find! What will he find? (Completed, takes place during Chapter 132)

**Embers**: **(TAU)** This story is a spinoff from Together Again. After Mai's death Zuko took his daughter to Ba Sing Se for a vacation; he wanted to get as far from the Fire Nation as he could, leaving nightmares and bad memories behind. One day Zuko took his daughter to the Zoo that Aang had created and that is where he met the beautiful green-eyed, chocolate brown haired beauty Taryn**.**

…

**Chapter 12**

It didn't take long for Suki to regain her strength and take her position as Leader of her squad back. Her squad became the best one of their age in history, Suki was so dedicated that she kept her squad's skills honed to perfection. Some of the girls were starting to get interested in boys, one or two even had boyfriends now but not Suki. She had no reason to have any interest in boys, most were too immature for her anyways, and there was nothing a boy could do to impress her.

…

"Suki!" The mayor said running up to the Peach Orchard where the girls were working. "Some children spotted intruders on the beach!" The older Kyoshi Warriors were away on a training exorcise leaving only Suki's squad to protect the whole island.

"Come on girls, we have a duty to uphold!" The girls all went running down to the beach as fast as they could. Suki stopped behind some thick brush holding her hand up to halt the other girls. She peered over the bush and saw a dark skinned girl and boy dressed in blue fur parkas with an enormous horned animal that she had never seen before. Her and three of her warriors stealth fully climbed a few nearby trees to get an aerial view of the intruders. They were yelling at someone else, this person was in the water, Suki shifted her focus to the person in the water. She watched as the Unagi's fin rose out of the water.  
Oh spirits!" She breathed. "Let's go Warriors!" Faster than the intruders knew what was happening the warriors threw bags over their heads and tied their hands and feet then dragged them up to the Avatar Kyoshi statue that watched over the island, securing the three people to the tall pole.

"You three have some explaining to do." Mayor Oyagi said to them.

"And if you don't answer all our questions, we're throwing you back in the water with the unagi." Suki told them.

"Show yourselves!" The older boy yelled. Suki and her warriors took the bags off of their heads. "Who are you? Where are the men who ambushed us?"

"There are no men." This was Suki's first real interaction with people not from the island since her confrontation with the Fire Nation soldiers, the boy's words angered her. "We ambushed you. Now tell us who are you and what are you doing here?"

The older boy let out a short laugh. "Wait a second, there's no way a bunch of _girls_ took us down."

Growing angrier Suki took hold of him by his collar and shook him. "A bunch of girls, huh?" Suki always hated being called a _girl_. "The Unagi's gonna eat well tonight." Suki had enough of this _boy_.

"No, don't hurt him!" The girl cut in quickly. "He didn't mean it. My brother is just an idiot sometimes." The girls words almost made Suki laugh, except this was not the time for laughing, Suki held her glare.

"It's my fault." The younger boy said, apologetically. "I'm sorry we came here. I wanted to ride the elephant koi."

"How do we know you're not Fire Nation spies?" Oyagi asked them. "Kyoshi stayed out of the war so far. And we intend to keep it that way!"

"This island is named for Kyoshi?" The boy looked excited. "I know Kyoshi!"

"Ha!" The mayor thought the child was being ridicules. "How could you possibly her? Avatar Kyoshi was born here four hundred years ago. She's been dead for centuries."

"I know her because I'm the Avatar." The boy exclaimed.

"That's impossible!" Suki couldn't believe this child's wild story, she brandished her fist at him. "The last Avatar was an airbender who disappeared a hundred years ago."

"That's me!" The boy grinned widely.

"Throw the imposter to the unagi!" Oyagi ordered the Warriors. The girls opened their fans and approached the intruders.

"Aang…" They heard the girl whisper to the younger boy. "Do some airbending…" The boy suddenly broke his bonds and launched himself into the air, backflips himself over the statue at the top of the pole the he floats gracefully down.

"It's true…" The mayor stammered "you _are _the Avatar!" Suddenly the boy took something out of his shirt.

"Now…" He said seriously "check _this_ out!" The boy grinned widely as he used his airbending to make a few marbles spin in circles hovering in between his palms.

Suki shook her head and walked away, she was still angry with the older boy, how could he call her a _girl_? She wasn't a girl, she was a warrior. Suki could hear the town's people cheering and screaming as she stomped off to the Warrior's Dojo.

When she got inside the Dojo she threw her fans, "How can he say that? He has no right to call me a girl! I'm not a girl I'm a proud Warrior! Stupid boy! He knows nothing of our traditions!" She vented as she retrieved her fans from the other side of room. Only the mayor had the right to call them girls, but that's still said with respect for them.

"Suki…" Rayna said as she entered the dojo "don't let it bother you, he's just a stupid boy… I heard that he and his sister came all the way from the South Pole with the Avatar. Oh, I almost forgot! Mayor Oyagi ordered a feast to honor the Avatar's arrival on Kyoshi Island."

"The Avatar is so young…" Suki couldn't believe that the boy disappeared over a hundred years ago but still only looked twelve.

"Yeah, so?" She asked Suki.

"How is he supposed to end the war? He's just a kid." Suki told her friend and fellow warrior.

"What I want to know is why that guy's word offended you so badly?" She asked. "You've been called a _girl _many times."

"I got mad because… because…" Suki desperately tried to find the reason his words bugged her as much as he did.

"Well, you think about it while we set up for the feast, the Mayor asked us to help." Rayna told her.

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute." Suki told Rayna as she left the dojo. "I'll show him that I'm not a _girl_!"

…

"So Avatar," Mayor Oyagi turned to face the Avatar on his right side "How long are you planning to stay here on our wonderful little island?"

"Well, I don't really know." The boy answered.

"We can't really stay that long, Aang and I need to get to the North Pole so we can both learn waterbending." The girl butted in.

"Yeah," he said glumly "Katara's right, we really do need to get to the North Pole."

"You are welcome to stay for as long as you like." The mayor told their honored guests. "If you need anything just ask, we will happily aid the Avatar in whatever he needs."

"Wow thanks!" The twelve year old boy beamed.

"Aang, don't let this all go to your head!" Katara told him.

"I know." The boy told her. "I won't."

"We should all go to bed now." Katara said looking up at the large moon.

"But… but the food is food and I'm not ready to go to bed." The older boy whined.

"Sokka you know how you get when you don't get enough sleep." Katara told her brother. Suki grinned at how easily this _girl _controlled the two boys, she would probably make a good warrior if she wanted to be one.

Suki sat back and chuckled as she watched as the girl 'mother' the two boys. She was controlling them and they didn't even realize it.

As Suki watched the boy disappear from sight she felt a bit sad and couldn't figure out why. She still didn't know why he made her so angry, or why she felt a bit sad now that she couldn't see him.

After the feast was cleaned up and everything taken care of the warriors were finally able to go to bed for the night. On her way back home she stopped and stared into the darkened room on the top floor of the meeting hall, where the Avatar and his friends were sleeping. "Why can't I get him out of my head?! He's just another stupid boy!" She scolded herself.

…

**A/N Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, they help encourage me to keep writing for you guys!**


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